More than ever before, users—from everyday people to CEOs to even high-ranking government officials—have troves of personal and work-related information on their devices. With so much data stored by such a wide variety of users, including government officials, why would law enforcement want to create a vulnerability in the devices’ software?

Riana Pfefferkorn guides us toward an internet that prioritizes users over the state and how that would lead to individuals having the ability to express themselves openly and have safe, private conversations. 

In this episode you’ll learn about:

• Different types of data law enforcement try to gather information from, including “at rest” and “in transit” data.
• The divide between law enforcement, national security and intelligence communities regarding their stance on strong encryption and backdoors on devices.
• How the First Amendment plays a role in cryptography and the ability for law enforcement to try to force companies to build certain code into their software.
• How strong encryption and device security empowers users to voice their thoughts freely.